Beta testing

Competency Group: Business

Type: Marketing

Description: Beta testing is a process whereby the effectiveness of a product is examined through the use of a physical prototype or mock up. This is generally performed to test the product and its packaging in typical usage situations. This is generally done by conducting focus groups, customer interviews and perhaps introducing it at a tradeshow. This gives the new product development team a chance to make adjustments where necessary and produce and initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine if there is customer acceptance.

Citation for Description: New Product Development. (2011). Retrieved from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_development

Advantages: Allows the new product development team to make final design adjustments to the final product and determine if there is sufficient interest in the product or service.

Limitations: This can be an expensive test to run. If the test audience is not the normalized customer group, the findings of this study can give inaccurate predictions.

Target Audience: Marketing

Relevant to Universal Design: Yes

Stages and Steps: 6.1, 6.3, 7.1

Free Resource: Centercode. (2009). Successful beta testing. Retrieved from Slideshare website: http://www.slideshare.net/centercode/sucessful-beta-testing-2034042.

Free Resource: Yubas, M. (2012). Beta test for product success. Retrieved from http://www.productcoach.com/market-product-articles/beta-test-for-success.html.